Digital marketing can help charities connect with a large number of people and raise funds for their causes. Common ways include having a well-maintained website, and using apps and other mobile-based services. Many prominent charities like the British Heart Foundation and the NSPCC are already reaping the benefits of these modern marketing tools.

In this article we will take a brief look at different ways in which any charity can effectively use digital tools to their best advantage.

Importance of digital marketing for charities

Charities – small or large – can use some form of digital marketing to spread awareness about their cause, raise funds and recruit volunteers. Various online marketing tools and techniques including search engine optimisation (SEO), pay per click (PPC) ad campaigns and social media marketing (SMM) can help charities reach a wider audience in a cost-effective way.

Digital tools like a responsive website and mobile apps, coupled with the reach of social media, can help make what might seem a daunting task, much easier.

Viral campaigns like “No Make Up Selfie” and the “Ice Bucket Challenge” are great examples of how important digital marketing can be for charities.

Digital marketing can help charities go global

Charities need to be able to broaden their horizons and widen their reach, so that people in need beyond their local area can benefit from their help, and supporters can donate.

A website that is optimised for search engines can help charities to be easily found online. Combined with the magic of social media, you have a powerful tool that can help you to reach the widest audience.

How to make digital marketing work

A well-designed website

A website can be a potent marketing tool for charities. It can help spread the word and be an online portal for donations.

Some important aspects of an effective website are:

  • An interface that is simple, intuitive and easy to use
  • Responsive design, so that it renders correctly across mobile devices
  • Prominent calls to action like “Donate Now”, to invite a response from visitors

You can achieve this with our mobile optimised websites product.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) and Search engine marketing (SEM)

A website should be optimised for search engines like Google, so it can be easily found by internet users. Correctly using keywords that are relevant to your charity’s brand and cause throughout your website is essential to achieving this.

You can also apply for $10,000 a month in free advertising on Google via our AdGrants product, which will help you with getting found online.

Social media marketing (SMM)

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, etc can help charities to connect with fundraisers and donors. Some good examples of this in action are the NSPCC using a Facebook fan page to boost donations, and the ‘Unheard in New York’ project, which used an innovative Twitter-centric strategy to gain more followers.

Understanding your audience

Tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, etc are handy for understanding your target audience, and the effectiveness of your digital marketing

There are various strategies that you could use to engage your audience with your digital marketing: eg. encouraging sharing of personal experiences, or using stories that underline the importance of a particular cause.